Fulton Superintendent Paul Hungerford had to see the damage with his own eyes Wednesday to really believe what he had been told: a deer ran across a busy street and leapt more than six feet into the windows of one of the district’s school buses as it drove past.

“I’m six feet three inches tall,” Hungerford said. “I’ve never seen a deer jump that high; that’s a 6.5 foot jump by that deer.”

A Fulton School bus was transporting about 18 high school-aged students from the district’s alternative education program south on State near Polk Road in Gratiot County Wednesday morning when the driver saw the deer standing on the east side of the road ahead, Hungerford said.

The front of the bus passed the deer, at which point the deer darted into the road, across the northbound lane and leapt into the side of the bus, damaging window frames and breaking some glass.

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“What possessed that deer, you can’t ever know,” Hungerford said. “You’re talking about seconds involved from the front of the bus to the back to pass the deer as it’s standing by the ditch line. It’s amazing to think about the speed of the animal.”

While the deer did not survive, the crash was essentially injury-free for the students, Hungerford said; a few sustained very small cuts and were treated by emergency responders at the scene.

About the Author

Lisa Yanick Litwiller is a photographer and community engagement editor. She is a 2000 graduate of CMU, the mother of two boys, is terrified of birds and close spaces, and loves wine, music and gossip. Reach the author at llitwiller@michigannewspapers.com
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